Active Learning

As a future physical educator, active learning could not be more important to me. I myself am an active learner. When i am physically involved in the learning process i retain the information better. Physical educators strive to find ties with critical thinking and active learning. When the two are mixed students are provided with an amazing learning opportunity. In the same way it is important for us to actively engage ourselves in our world in order to learn more about it. More specifically it is important for us to actively engage ourselves in the media if we ever hope to gain a better understanding of it. Media has so many dimensions. I can not even fathom the amount of information and meaning i am missing when i watch movies. Directors and writers and everyone envolved with the movie making process puts so much into it. They develop signs and codes that an ignorant person would completely miss. I feel as though i have just began to scratch the surface on understanding semiotics and finding things that the movie makers, and others have intwined their work with for us to pick up on. This class has definately helped me to appriciate the media slightly better. I now actively pick up on codes and symbols when i watch commercials, or listen to music. Its becomming an annoying habit to my friends, but it is so facinating to me. I never realized how drenched media is with semiotic domains that i had no idea even existed before a few weeks ago. I love learning about it, and its like putting a huge puzzle together when i pick up on something. Creators of media want their audiences to pick up on this stuff, and as the audience, we have a duty to ourselves and the creators to find it. When we do, we can only appriciate the art more.

Media Diet

After three days of "watching my diet" of media, i am wondering seriously if i actually should be calling it a diet. In the past three days i have gorged myself on media. Without including text books and class homework, i might consider my media consumption morbid obesity. I am constantly on facebook around 3 hours total for this three day period. Because of the snow day i had a ton of extra procrastination time. Instead of being productive i of course watched 2 movies in one day, and 2 other movies on the other two days i was counting. 4 movies total in a 3 day period. YIKES! My roomate and i watch about an hour of TV before we go to bed. During TV watching time, both of us are one our computers surfing the internet and watching youtube ( im an excellent multitasker). All of this consumption does not even include the 7 journal articles i read and the two other movies i watching in that time period. I think that my media diet might be slightly different than most college students. I make time for media sometimes over school work. School work is incredibly important to me, but i can not step away from my passion for movies and television. I love movies probably the most out of any other form of media. I watch them as a way to relax. In a weird way they actually motivate me to do homework. I know i can lay on my bed with one of my favorite movies in and do my homework at the same time. Probably not the best idea, but it gives me the feeling like homework isn't a punishment. I can have both my passions and obligations satisfied. I do think i could cut back on all of my media consumption. If im not watching a movie or television music is definately my next option. I actually tried for one whole day to avoid media all together. It scared me how consumed i was in media. Its like a drug and if i don't have it i panick. It was even harder to avoid it for one day. I CANNOT run without music, i cannot sit in my room with out the tv on, and i can not even look at a computer with out the urge to check my email or facebook. And everyone around me is consumed in it too. The TVs in the wellness center are always on, and in order to write papers and "make the grades" in class i HAVE to read journal articles. I think the important thing i learned from this media log, was that having media in my life is in no way bad or detrimental. It can be if i am not careful and do not budget my time and sort out my prioreties. I can not dhowever ignore the impact that media has on my life, and how it has shaped me and taken its place as a passion that i cannot live with out.

How are our myths Un/ true?

I think that there are ways in which myths shape our lives for the better. Knowing that any of them could possibly come true keep us on our toes. As humans i think we have to believe in the "coming of the messiah." Especially as a Christian, i know my life would be completely screwed up if i didn't have hope for Jesus' return. In the same way we are all faced with challenges and valuing them is important. It won't always be like movies where in one scene we fight off some evil doer, and in the next realize that because we destroyed him we can now face the ultimate bad guy. But challenges do shape us for the future even if we are uncertain how or when they will. All of the myths can be present in real life situations, and some of us might be living them right now. They can shape and mold us, and help us develop our character for the better. However there are some instances where i do believe myths can be untrue for us.
"Presence of a Conspiracy" is one of those "go both ways" myths. There our conspiracies in our lives and country. We always assume we can trust everyone, but we don't know everything. This can be seen on a large scale (the government "Watergate") or on a small scale (friends that aren't so nice). Discovering them might be beneficial if we can figure them out and find a way to expose the "bad guy" in order to reestablish order. It would be extremely detrimental to chase these myths. To constantly think that someone is out to get us or there is a conspiracy threatening to take down life as we know it is not healthy. In fact, some might argue that a person that chases myths might be mentally unwell. It is important not to submerse ourselves so deeply in these myths that we become dependent on them. That we expect them to occur and wait for it or try to find it ourselves.

Myths in Mass Media

Randomly last night my friend and I decided to watch a movie. We have a lot of favorites so we picked one we had not watched in a long time. The movie we watched was "The Legend of Bagger Vance" staring Will Smith, Matt Daemon, and Charlize Theron. It was a little weird the next day (this morning) in class when we started talking about myths. Ok, so here is a summary of "The Legend of Bagger Vance" So Junah and Adele are in love. Junah is an amazing golfer in georgia. Everyone expects him to go the distance considering at 16 his is breaking records and blowing everyone away with his skill. Then the war comes and Junah goes off to war leaving Adele and the entire town behind. The war is hard on Junah and he doesn't return for 10 years. When he does return, his small town is being destroy by the depression. To help the town and give it hope Adele decides to hold a golf tournament. This tournament will bring money to the town because she plans on hosting 2 of the greatest golfers. The town wants one of their own to compete to keep the prize money within the town. They call on Junah. He is hesitant at first but decides to help. the problem is, he has lost his "touch". Junah basically sucks at golf. In comes Bagger Vance (Will Smith). Bagger is a run down, probably homelesss wanderer. Nobody even knows where he came from. He helps Junah realize his potential and turn his golf game around. Suprise surprise Junah manages to win the tournament and save his town.
There are soo many myths running in this movie...probably most if not all of them. But the one that is most obvious is the "Wisdom of the Rustic" Bagger is clearly the "rustic" a random guy that is a completely unlikely source of wisdom that influences Junah, a guy that had everything going for him and threw it away. With out Bagger's influence Junah would have never competed let alone succeeded in the Golf tourny. Not only did Bagger fix Junah golf problems, but he gave him the tools he needed to fix his life, help his town, and discover himself. This movie is awesome and i encourage anyone to see it if they haven't. It also provides a great example of myths present in movies.

Entertainment

In class this week we talked about how there are two ways to define entertainment. One is that entertainment is a form of distraction, to take us away from our everyday actions and hold our attention. This can be good or bad. Also, the act of entertaining means to hold or care for something (entertaining guests). Some might see the distracting aspect of entertaining to be bad. We all become victims of the lure of the glowing TV screen taking us away from our paper that is due tomorrow. Quite often i find myself fighting with my urges to watch movies and lay in bed all day or go to class. Last weekend my roomate and i stayed up till 2 a.m. watching music videos of our favorite songs and researching music and upcomming movies. Entertainment gives me a reason to procrastinate and I ALWAYS dread it the next day if i fall into its trap. For me though, entertainment is not alwyas a distraction. In the same way that it distracts me, in some ways it holds and cares for me. Movie watching is my stress reliever. When i have free time i usually am watching movies. They hold my attention and wrap my in a blanket of comfort with their stories. In this time i don't have to worry about what problems or stresses i have in my life. I can relax knowing that whatever movie i am watching will have a happy ending. It is distracting me yes, but also satisfying my need to escape. Many times i watch movies with friends (entertaining guests). We make an event out of it and it is an opportunity to spend time together. Entertainment is a very crucial part of my life, whether it is distracting me, or taking care of my need for something different from my own life, it is very important and beneficial.

Problems and Possibilities

Mass Media can be both positive and negative. I think that it is awesome that mass media can connect such a wide range and variety of people. Because of it, when can know what is going on in the world around us, not just in our own little world. News provides us with tons of information about the world we live in and the people we share it with. Movies and books give us entertainment and a chance to escape our everyday lives, and use our imaginations. New avenues of mass media, like facebook and myspace can also be great. Without facebook it would be a lot harder for me to stay in touch with friends that i grew up with, and family that i do not see very often. However, mass media can be a double edged sword.
The individuals and company controlling the media also have somewhat of a control on our lives. We saturate our lives with so much media, that it in turn can effect our way of thinking and living. The news controls what stories we hear. They determine how important an event is and what version of a story is told. I believe that in some cases they totally stretch the truth to make it more interesting. Reality TV also does this in a way. They may twist the truth or control what portions of a conversation are heard, and watch body language the cast gives off in order to make the veiwer feel as though two individuals are having an arguement. Facebook is another outlet that i feel can really be detrimental in some ways. It takes away from physical interaction with individuals. My generation, myself included, seem to struggle with converstions when we are face to face. We seem detached and no longer make eye contact or strike up random converstations with strangers. Its just too awkward. We are so used to being hidden behind our screennames and facebook personalities to make any kind of effort in the real world. I believe that mass media's possibilities outway it's problems, but individuals need to be careful not to be so consumed in media that they forget to think for themselves.

Pre-Game Movie

Movies always greatly influence my perspective on things. Whether they really have an impact on my life and change my way of thinking or they are purely for entertainment. Sports movies are especially a huge part of my life. I play soccer for Malone and i consider myself to be quite obsessive with my sport. Before a game superstitions rule my life. I put my socks on left to right, followed by shin guards left to right, and then finally shoes and tape. Oddly enough my game would be absolutely RUINED if the night before i wasn't pumped up by watching the movie 300. The movie portrays a small army fighting for their freedom. they are in top physical condition and have worked incredibly hard so that when the time comes to battle they will be ready. Despite their small numbers and the looming probability that they will be defeated, they press on toward their goal. Because of their determination, heart, and faithfulness to each other, they get farther then would be expected. This movie is seriously awesome, especially when i am preparing to play. I can see relationships between the small underdog army and my team. This year we were low on numbers and expected to loose every game. The odds were even more against us when 5 months before the season started we were left without a coach and only 8 players returning. Our team had to fight every step of the way and work harder than any other team that we would be facing. When game time came, most of the teams were enormous with 25 + players marching onto the field thinking their battle would be short and painless. Who wouldn't envision an easy victory when only 17 girls walked onto the field, half of them broken from injury. My team however was not that easily defeated. Like in the movie our hard work, determination, and faithfulness to each other took us to great heights. We were victorious even when we didn't necessarily win. Watching the movie 300 before a game reminded me that underdogs shouldn't be taken lightly. Sometimes the smallest teams or armies put up the greatest fights in battles. This movie really pumps me up for a game. I could not have played this season with out it.

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